YouTube Premium offers SharePlay, higher-quality video, and more

Today, YouTube Premium, the $11.99 ad-free version of YouTube, is adding features to attract and retain customers. Most significantly, the subscription plan will now include higher-quality video for web and iOS users, support for co-watching videos on FaceTime using Apple’s SharePlay, and mobile queue controls.

Although many people don’t know what YouTube Premium offers beyond ad removal, the firm hopes the expanded feature set will help them advertise the subscription. The launches follow other recent enhancements including the option to continue watching films on any device and “smart downloads” that automatically save recommended videos for offline viewing. Web users can now use this feature.

While many of these earlier features have more discreetly enhanced the YouTube Premium subscription—running in the background where they may go unnoticed by the end user—newly today’s announced improvements will be more front-and-center to the viewing experience.

In the coming weeks, YouTube Premium subscribers on iOS and the web will have a higher bitrate 1080p HD video quality. (As a “experiment” on the web. This is not one of YouTube Premium’s experiments that lets subscribers test new features before they’re released. YouTube says the upgraded 1080p quality level will make sports and gaming videos “particularly sharp and clear,” even though all viewers will have access to 1080p. If implemented, this might help YouTube Premium deliver a “premium” experience to subscribers rather than just removing commercials.

Apple SharePlay, unveiled during the 2021 Worldwide Development Conference, is another important innovation. YouTube will restrict co-viewing to paid subscribers, unlike Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and TikTok. It distinguishes it from rival TikTok, which was among the first to embrace Apple’s FaceTime co-watching function.

SharePlay now feels more like a pandemic-era solution to link people who can’t be together. Netflix never launched its own co-viewing service, perhaps relying on decreased usage when COVID-19 limitations were relaxed. So it’s intriguing to see YouTube try to pitch SharePlay as a “perk” rather than regular functionality, especially because Google Meet already allows YouTube co-viewing without the Premium premium for all users. (YouTube states only Premium users can initiate in Google Meet, but non-subscribers can view).

YouTube Premium subscribers now have more queue control. Premium customers can queue videos on phones and tablets starting today. YouTube free users can save videos to playlists, including “Watch Later,” but queuing lets them choose what to watch next.

 

Other YouTube Premium features include background play, offline downloads, and YouTube Music Premium.